This one's for you...

"You" know who you are...

Tonight I am watching American Idol, drinking water, and eating sunflower seeds. Food for birds right? I gotta eat like a bird tonight because yesterday I might have consumed about...oh....almost 3 plain cake donuts. They weren't small ones. Just sayin...

Yeah...and I opened the bag of Ruffles.

Not good....I mean, they tasted good, but not good, ya know??

Yeah...

But HEY! This isn't a guilty food confessions blog, and I am in no hurry to confess that since I typed the word "donut" that's all I can think about...those yummy cake donuts just sitting upstairs in the kitchen...

Now how about the first belly shot from baby #4??? I gained 2 lbs since my last post...the picture will explain everything.

Next week is my last week before I enter the second trimester! People, it's going by too fast! I am starting to imagine what life will be like with 4 kids! I am not impressed with what I am coming up with, hahaha! Let me expound on that:

Tuesday we decided to have fajitas for dinner, but I would need to go to the store to get a bell pepper and tomatoes. Not a big deal. I didn't have anyone home to watch the kids, so I packed them all up in the van and off to the store we went. I like to go to Smith's, the checkers are awesome fast, and they have baggers, plus car carts. (Not to mention donuts!!)

The drama started with the car cart. There's only enough room for 2. I have 3 kids. I normally go shopping with just Carter and Kya while Anna is at school, so Kya has learned to LOVE the car cart! I actually have issues with Kya picking on Carter, who is over 3 years older than her, while they are riding in the car cart! She rules the car cart, that's all there is to it!

So when Anna and Carter climbed into the car cart Tuesday, Kya was NOT having it. She started protesting in a very LOUD and embarrassing way. Gah! Yeah...she is crying, but it's her yell-cry, while squirming and kicking and arching her back. It's okay. I am used to public tantrums. Carter was a pro as a toddler. While Kya is protesting, Anna has hopped into her spot in the car cart, while Carter starts crying because he "doesn't have enough room!!" Don't worry, there were plenty of people to witness.

So, we've got Kya protesting, Carter whining, and Anna just sat there looking pretty. I decide that we are going to use a normal cart. Anna and Carter climb out, Carter's whines turn into tears, Anna picks up on the whining, and Kya is still very much in full protest!!!

It wasn't good people, it wasn't good.

I remained determined to plow through all the protests.

I made it to the bread.

Then I silently turned the cart around, parked it, picked up Kya, and headed for the door! As we are exiting the store, Carter is crying, "Mom! I thought you were gonna buy food!!" over and over. I just silently walked them to the van. It was one of those moments where you knew if you opened your mouth, it just wouldn't be good. That whole day had been a "bad" day for me...not because of the kids...but just dealing with other stuff. I had reached my limit. Done.

I drove the kids home, left them with grandma (who had just got home from work) and went back to the store with just Kya. Second attempt was a success.

As I re-told Russ about my "adventure" when he got home from work, his mom started to giggle. The further I got into the story, the funnier she found it to be!!! I couldn't help but find it all comical as well! Especially if you saw what I let my kids WEAR to the store!!!

So...take that story and just add another kid to the picture and maybe you can imagine why I am feeling not so impressed!

That being said, I LOVE being pregnant...until the last few months. I love watching my belly grow and feeling the baby start to move. Going into labor is so EXCITING too! I just love to talk with other women about their birth stories, and telling my own! And I am so excited for baby #4 to get bigger and to meet him/her in August...at least we are hoping for an August birth...not because I want to make it all the way to 40 weeks, but because both Anna and Carter were due in August, and they both came 2 weeks early, Carter 2 1/2, and have birthdays the end of July, only 5 days apart.

This babe is due August 15th...
See my dilemma?

To end: A few nights ago, as I was putting the kids into bed, I had to re-explain to Carter about his punishment for the next day. Earlier, he was throwing his cardboard Captain America shield. (because that's what Captain America does...duh!) Grandpa asked Carter to stop after it hit Grandpa in the face. Instead of stopping, Carter gave the shield another toss, and it hit his cousin Suzi!!! (don't worry, it didn't hurt her) So, Carter had to sit in timeout, then apologize to grandpa and Suzi, and then he got all of his shields taken away from him for the night and next day. He was very upset.

At bedtime, Carter asked me about his shields. I told him he lost the privelage to play with them because of his behavior. He was the saddest kid I ever saw! As he was crying, he tells me, "Mom....why do you always have to hurt my feelings???"

Oh, kids! We sure laughed about that one later!!! If only I had time to share all the funny things that come out of Carter's mouth!!! Next post....next post!

I am just glad he's not wearing this stuff anymore. He now insists I call him "Peter Parker" and when he is playing, I often hear him saying, "Call me captain!" "Cuz I'm a CAPTAIN!" or "I'm the Human Spider!"

Thank goodness for super heroes!

4 Weeks of Service

For Family Home Evenings this year, I wanted to do monthly "Themes". I feel like our kids will learn more when we stick to something similar each week and they get some repetition.

We got a late start for January, but the theme I chose is "Service". Each week we will choose someone, and do an act of service for that person/family.

Of all the qualities I want my kids to develop, service is at the top. To me, it doesn't really matter how talented a person is, though having talents and using/sharing them is so important, but if a person doesn't learn to forget himself and serve others, then I feel like they are missing something truly wonderful in their life.

Often life for kids is all about "me, me, me". Look at me, look what I did, watch me do this, look what I got, this is what I want to do." It is a natural process all little kids go through, and I think it is an important process they NEED to go through. Our little ones need to know that the thiings they do are important and that they are noticed by their parents. When they learn something new, or accomplish a difficult task, the praise they receive gives them confidance and courage to keep learning and trying new things.

But as parents, we need to balance their "It's all about me" mentality with opportunities to think about others. As children grow older, they naturally develop the need to want to please their parents. Children crave approval. And they watch all of us adults and pick up on so much more than we think. They pick up on our attitudes, notice what is important to us by how we react through our facial expressions and body language, use of eye contact, tone of voice...they listen to what we talk about when we are with other adults, on the phone, and what we do during the day and with our free time. Children will come to their own conclusions about what they need to say/do to gain approval by what they observe in daily life.

Some children will grow to think that they have to be a certain way in order for mom and dad to be proud of them. It is up to us, as parents, to make sure we are communicating to our children how we feel about them as individuals in our family, each one special in their own way and unique, offering something to the family that maybe others can't. We need to let them know that it is okay to have different talents, that little brother might be able to do cartwheels and flips so easily, and even though mom and dad get so excited to see him do so well, that it's okay that the big sister struggles with that kind of stuff, because she is so great at reading, writing, and drawing.

I think for kids, that they need a break from always trying to compete for the spotlight, and take many moments to instead focus on others. The more opportunities they are given to help someone else, the easier it becomes for them to not be selfish in that moment when baby sister has the whole family's attention, and the other children find joy and happiness in the successes of others, feeling secure about who they are, knowing they are loved, and understanding that life just isn't "all about me".

Does that all make sense?

Our first act of service, we chose to visit aunt Chelsea. She had the flu the day before and still wasn't feeling well. We put together a basket of goodies to bring to her, uncle Wes, and cousin Suzi. We had a lesson about Love before we went, and talked about how we show love for others and read the scripture where Christ says, "when ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." The scripture talks about visiting the sick, and I explained to the kids that that is what we would be doing. I asked Carter a question and his answer made me laugh!

Me: "So Carter, when someone is sick, like Chelsea, what should we do?" (We had just talked about how we show love for others, hoping he would connect visiting the sick with being an act of love.)

Carter replied with excitement, "We bring em a TREAT!!!"

It was funny. Treats equal love for sure, right???

It was so fun to visit aunt Chels, and the kids were so excited to show her all her goodies! And Suzi, who is not yet 2 yrs old, was SO excited to have visitors! It felt good to be able to do something nice for someone else, to go out of our way, and to do more than what was expected, so we could show love and appreciation for that person. I want my kids to feel the greater joy of giving than receiving, and to teach them that it is important to care for others and think about their needs.

In life, there were times when I didn't have much, but I ALWAYS had the ability to give of myself. Kind words, showing affection, offering help...those things don't cost us a penny...yet those very things become worth more than anything in this world that money could buy. We become more like HIM.

That is our ultimate goal, right? Right!

Next week: we are going to find a way to show love and appreciation for our teachers. What are you doing?

Oreos and peanut butter...

Hold on....gotta take a bite....

hmmmmm....dat is soooo dewicious....


Sometimes in life, you have to be rebellious. I am totally rebelling tonight...as I take another swig of my Sprite and prepare to eat another bite of saturated fat!

Hey! And "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" is playing on the Food Network. There's nothing better than THAT to get your rebellious streak in gear!

Sorry to all of you "Resolutioners" who are on strict diets...I am not writing any of this to spite you, I am just going with the writers flow....and participating in what experts call "emotional eating"....it's supposed to make me feel better, right? Especially after spending the majority of the past month and a half sick, or taking care of sick kids, barely getting out of the house, and having hardly enough energy to do the basics like feeding the kids, wiping endlessly runny noses, dosing out Benydryl and Motrin, and keeping the toys cleaned up and laundry from staying in the dryer for days on end, fluffing and re-fluffing with good intentions of getting it folded, only to re-fluffify the next day...or two...

Tonight I deserve saturated fat. And that absolutely delicious looking pizza on t.v.!!!

          *pregnant women should be banned from watching the Food Network!

-94% of Americans eat pizza...good to know....good to know...


Another thing I am rebelling in: The Christmas Post. Who really wants to look at a bunch of photos of us in pajamas buried in boxes and wrapping paper? We had a GREAT Christmas. The giving and receiving was much fun. But honestly, the quiet moments are what I loved best, like standing by Kya's crib at bedtime, watching her drink her bottle and rub the corner of her blankie on her cheek, and loving her all the more as she finishes her bottle, hands it to me and replies in her cute little voice, "Tank Koo". That's "Thank You" if you don't understand toddler jabber. I love those moments because I know that the CrAzInEsS from the holidays is over, life can settle back down, and I can sleep knowing that kitchen clean-up that lasts for weeks is coming to an end.

Ever heard of this: "Oklahoma Dog"? Big ol beef frank, wrapped in bacon, dipped in beer batter, deep fried, then served on a grilled sourdough bun and topped with mustard and onions. Would you eat it??? Being pregnant....I definitely would!

Here's a cute pic of the kids Christmas morning that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!!

Seriously....it doesn't get any better than that!

We also had a blast playing Twister after Christmas was over. Carter picked it out for Anna....best.gift.ever. Here are some choice pictures for you to enjoy:

Pictures speak for themselves, right? Anna was practically doing the splits most of the time! Did you know that you can get a REALLY good workout playing Twister? Very true. I did get sweaty, and was sore the next day. SO FUN! I had such a good time getting my niece, Olivia, on the mat, and then coming up with my own moves for her. Hilarious!

Good times, oh good times.

TMI time:
Time to explain the fact that I am, yes....pregnant!!! Not much to explain, we obviously know HOW it happened. It defintely was NOT planned. Yup....our first "oops" moment. It happens to everyone, right? Yes, we were using birth control, but our method was the "family planning" method. Track your period, chart your day of ovulation, and know that the "fertile" period is so many days before ovulation day, and so many days after ovulation day. Easy enough.

BUT...

I failed to take into account the changes in my cycle. I had been running weekly. I lost weight quickly and went from 130 lbs to 113lbs in probably a month. Because I am only barely over 5ft tall, that's a lot of weight loss. My cycle went all wacky on me.  My cycle is normally every 28 days on the dot, very predictable. I would just chart my cycle on my calendar in advance because it was so predictable. Things got all wacky and off kilter, but I didn't even think to make the changes on the calander. Thus....surprise!!!....missed period and positive pregnancy test!

Do you know what they call people who use the "Family Planning" method?

-Parents. Ha. ha. ha.

I am watching Guy eat deep fried clams. Seriously??? I need some!!! And Lobster Stew! Too bad it's served in Maine! I am sorry, but Pocatello is seriously lacking in the quality of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Here's a few more cute pics and then I will wrap this post up.

2011 quote of the year:

Carter is opening a present. He gets all the wrapping paper off and the present is inside a box.

I say, "Wow! You got a box!!!"

Carter,"A box? It's just what I wanted!!!"

Hahahahaha! I sure love my kids. I've had some long days, and many moments where I was counting down the hours until bedtime. But the amount of love is always there...just sometimes hard to reach. I guess it's my job to find a better stool.

PS: I am almost 10 weeks prego and haven't gained a pound...yeah....totally not like me....not sure what went right this time....so I am so totally not feeling guilty at all about those Oreos!

...and pass the homemade ravioli....please....!!!